This guide summarizes what we could find in publicly published hauler calendars and city notices for the Denver metro � city-run and private � around the six holidays that typically cause trash, recycling, and compost delays. We rebuild it each year once new calendars post.
Confirm with your hauler. This is not an official schedule. Routes, contracts, and holiday observances vary by address � check your hauler's lookup tool or alerts for your exact pickup dates before setting carts out.
- Trash (black cart)
- Recycling (purple cart)
- Compost (green cart)
The short version
Nearly every Denver-area hauler � the city and the big private companies � follows the same basic pattern: for six recognized holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas), any pickup scheduled on or after the holiday moves back one day for the rest of that week. Pickups earlier in the week aren't affected, and a holiday landing on a Saturday or Sunday usually causes no delay at all. Everything else in this guide is the exceptions and the exact 2026 dates.
2026 holidays that affect pickup
These are the dates every hauler below is measured against. Bookmark this section � it's the part that changes least often.
Hauler-by-hauler: does this holiday delay pickup?
A quick-scan grid before you dig into the details below. "1-day delay" means the standard rest-of-week shift; "no delay" means normal collection continues.
| Holiday | Denver Solid Waste | Republic Services | WM | GFL / Alpine | Waste Connections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1-day delay | Thu/Fri routes only | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay |
| MLK Jr. Day | No delay | No delay | Varies by contract | No delay | No delay |
| Memorial Day | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay |
| Independence Day | Confirm � city offices observe Jul 3 | No delay (weekend) | Confirm locally | Confirm locally | No delay (weekend) |
| Labor Day | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay |
| Thanksgiving | Thu/Fri routes only | Thu/Fri routes only | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay |
| Christmas Day | Fri routes only | Fri routes only | 1-day delay | 1-day delay | 1-day delay |
"Confirm locally" means published policy varies by municipal contract or wasn't specific enough to state with confidence � check the link in each hauler's section below.
The haulers, in detail
Who actually picks up your cart depends on where you live. Denver proper runs its own municipal service; most suburbs and some Denver multifamily buildings contract with one of the four private haulers below.
Denver Solid Waste Management
- Weekly trash, weekly compost, recycling every other week, and Large Item Pickup once every nine weeks.
- The six holidays above trigger a delay when your set-out day falls on or after the holiday; everything earlier that week runs on time.
- MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day, and Veterans Day do not delay collection � put carts out on the normal day.
- Independence Day is unusual this year: city offices observe it on Friday, July 3, since July 4 lands on a Saturday. Confirm whether that shifts your specific route before assuming a normal week.
Verify your address: Denver's schedule lookup tool or the Denver Trash and Recycling app � 311 / 720-913-1311
Republic Services
- Observes the same six holidays, but only delays the routes running on or after the holiday within that week � earlier routes stay on schedule.
- 2026 specifics: New Year's Day (Thu, Jan 1) delays Thursday routes to Friday and Friday routes to Saturday; Monday�Wednesday are unaffected.
- Memorial Day and Labor Day, both Mondays, push the entire week back one day.
- Independence Day falls on a Saturday in 2026, so Republic reports no schedule change that week.
- Thanksgiving (Thu, Nov 26) and Christmas (Fri, Dec 25) each shift only the routes from that weekday onward.
Verify your address: republicservices.com/schedule
WM (Waste Management)
- Standard rule: a holiday delay pushes your service one day later, with normal service resuming the following week.
- WM's list of observed holidays is set per local contract rather than one national calendar � some Colorado districts do delay for MLK Day, which is not typical of other haulers in this guide. Don't assume; check your address.
- WM publishes an address-specific holiday calendar each year rather than one blanket metro-wide schedule.
Verify your address: wm.com � Schedule & ETA tool, or wm.com/us/en/holiday-schedule
GFL Environmental / Alpine Waste & Recycling
- Delays regularly scheduled collection by one day during the week of New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
- Their published policy doesn't spell out a weekend exception, so for a Saturday holiday like Independence Day in 2026, confirm directly rather than assuming no change.
- Offers commercial compostables collection in addition to standard trash and recycling.
Verify your address: GFL's branch locator, or your local account portal
Waste Connections of Colorado
- Same six-holiday list, with the explicit rule that a holiday landing on a weekend does not delay that week's collection.
- Recycling runs every other week regardless of holiday timing � only the trash/recycling day itself shifts.
- Since July 4, 2026 is a Saturday, Waste Connections' own rule means no delay that week.
Verify your address: wasteconnections.com/pickup-schedule
How the "one-day delay" rule actually plays out
Worked example using Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026 � a holiday that pushes the whole week back one day for most haulers.
- Mon 9/7 Holiday � no collection
- Tue 9/8 ? normally-Monday routes collected today
- Wed 9/9 ? normally-Tuesday routes collected today
- Thu 9/10 ? normally-Wednesday routes collected today
- Fri 9/11 ? normally-Thursday routes collected today
- Sat 9/12 ? normally-Friday routes collected today
Set your cart out at your usual curb time on the shifted day � the truck just arrives a day later than usual, not at a different hour.
Keeping this from catching you off guard
- Turn on your hauler's text or email alerts. Denver, Republic, WM, GFL, and Waste Connections all offer holiday-week notifications tied to your account or address.
- The week before a listed holiday, re-check your specific hauler's page � contracts and municipal agreements get renegotiated, and a policy can change between our annual reviews.
- If your cart sits out overnight, holiday weeks are when street sweeping and pickup schedules are most likely to collide � check your city's sweeping calendar too.
- Missed pickup after a holiday week? Give it until the end of the shifted day before reporting � most "missed" pickups are just running the normal one-day-late route.
Common questions
Does trash pickup change for MLK Day, Presidents' Day, or Veterans Day in Denver?
Denver Solid Waste does not delay collection for MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day, or Veterans Day � put carts out on the normal day. Private haulers in this guide mostly match that pattern for MLK Day, but WM can vary by contract. Always verify your address.
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend, like July 4 in 2026?
When a holiday lands on Saturday or Sunday, many haulers � including Republic and Waste Connections � report no schedule change that week. Denver may observe a weekday instead (July 3 in 2026 for Independence Day). Confirm before assuming a normal week.
My holiday fell mid-week � does the whole week shift, or just part of it?
For Monday holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day, most haulers push the entire week back one day. For Thursday Thanksgiving or Friday Christmas, only routes on or after the holiday shift � earlier weekdays in that week often stay on schedule.
Does a holiday delay affect recycling and compost too, or just trash?
For most haulers, all streams on your collection day move together when a delay applies. Waste Connections notes recycling stays on its every-other-week cycle � only the day itself shifts. Check your hauler for split-stream exceptions.
Keeping this page current
This is meant to be rebuilt each year once haulers post their new holiday calendars, typically between November and January. A running log keeps the update process quick.
| Reviewed | Covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 2026 holiday calendar | Initial build � 5 haulers, Denver + Aurora + metro suburbs |
| � | 2027 holiday calendar | Next review: rebuild before Dec 2026 once 2027 calendars post |
Britebin compiled this guide from publicly available hauler and city sources we could find at review time. It is not an official page of the City and County of Denver, Denver Solid Waste Management, Republic Services, WM, GFL Environmental/Alpine, or Waste Connections. Schedules can change without notice � always verify your pickup dates with your hauler using the official tool linked in each section above. If your bin cleaning visit falls on a shifted week, share the updated pickup day when you contact us.